Room with a view

Only a full week in Cambridge, and I feel like I've been here forever. The first week here is called Fresher's Week, which I suppose is like Orientation. The major difference, though, is that they try to keep us from sleeping as much as possible. Every hour of my days and nights is spent meeting supervisors, sitting in lectures, attending social events and tea parties, etc. Not that I'm complaining! Cambridge is beautiful, and I really don't think I've seen anything like it. I really need to get a bike, though, and then I'll be a true Cambridge student.

I live in one of the Red Buildings, which are some of the older dorms of the college. Exactly the way I like it. My room is about the size of a double back at Brown, but I have it all completely to myself! I also have an awesome view of the college library, the interior of which is beautiful if somewhat lacking in its book collection.

My third day at Pembroke was Matriculation, and what an incredibly formal affair it was! We were quite a sharply dressed group in our college robes. The day began with a sort of ceremony in the Old Library, where we all signed our names into a book and became official members of the college for "now and forever." The speech by the Praelector, who is incidentally my Director of Studies, was extremely formal, and I suspect that it's the same speech that has been given for at least the past 100 years. Later on we had a group photo, and the night ended with Formal Hall. I couldn't take a picture, but it is exactly like Harry Potter without the floating candles and wizard hats. We really did look like this.

I've never had to drink so much wine in one night as I have had to here. They first pour us a full glass of white wine, then another glass of red wine, and finally another glass of red wine to toast the queen. The night, however, had been started even earlier with drinks with our Tutors. So by the end of all this, I had had at least 4 cups of wine. The toast to the Queen, however, was a bit of an interesting affair. Some people obviously didn't do it, and the reasons, I have since found, are generally the following: (1) they're Irish; (2) they're American; or (3) they generally despise monarchies.

The dinner finally ended with a speech from the Grandmaster. This was first signaled by a gong. A gong! The Grandmaster then welcomed us all and discussed the values of the college, which could all be summarized in the 5 C's. I don't really remember any of them except Community, but the Grandmaster joked about how much he like C's, and that's when I learned that he had previously been a C! C is the head of MI6, and apparently, if he puts his hand on your shoulder as he leaves the hall, he is inviting you to join MI6. Pembroke truly does have a bit more intrigue than Brown. Looks like it's going to be an interesting year!